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Introduction Questions
1. Is theology a science? Why or why not. ''' Is theology a science? Many scientist and college professors would laugh at this question, dogmatically holding on to the view that religion is unscientific in nature. Science is basically the practice of obtaining knowledge through test and observations. Science test observable phenomena with the scientific method to come to specific conclusions. Theology may very well be a science because it to uses the scientific method to test thoughts and theories over biblical text and teachings. For example, if one were to hold the view that man is not sinful, he would use the scientific method to see if what he believes matches with the observable data he received from the bible and the world. Like science, theology has many tools for one to use to gather data such as concordances and other christian writing. Also like science, one uses and discuses data to come to specifc conclusions. In short theology can be considered a science. --John Stevenson (sent to Emily Steele at 12:41 AM, September 7, 2010) 2. '''What does it mean to "live blessedly forever"? To live blessedly forever means to be in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with circumstances. The two terms describing blessed living are makarios and ashri, Greek and Hebrew for the internal peace and satisfaction that comes only from being in a right relationship with God. No matter what happens, one can live blessedly always. --Joseph Sung 3. Please list the marks of "bad theology" and summarize each in 1-2 sentences. There are four marks of a bad theology. First is dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is Christianity reduced to a legalistic set of rules and laws instead of a close relationship with God. Another mark of bad theology is wildfire passion. Wildfire passion is a temporary emotional zeal for God which sputters out very quickly. Third is vain theology. Theology becomes vain when it becomes over speculative or more influenced by the ideas of men rather than God’s. Last is man-centered theology. Man-centered theology focuses theology on man. This is a contradiction for theology is the study of God, not man. --Joseph Sung 4. Please list the marks of “good theology” and summarize each in 1-2 sentences. The following are the marks of “good theology”: it must be Biblically-accurate; it must accurately describe the world around us; it must be God-centered; it must be Christ-centered; it must be doxological; it must be both eschatological and protological; it must be ecclesiastical; it must encourage sanctification; it must encompass all life. A Biblically-accurate theology must coincide with the teachings of the Bible. A theology which accurately describes the world around us is one which does not contradict things which we observe about us which are generally indisputable. If one’s theology is God-centered, that means that the theology must be focused on God, not man. A Christ-centered theology goes along with this because it refers to a theology which is always pointing towards Christ and the good news of what He has done; however, in noting what He has done, it still must stay centered on Christ, not on what man can get because of this. A doxological theology praises and worships God and sometimes incorporates creeds and confessions to aid to this end. An eschatological and protological theology not only looks forward to the return of Christ, but also looks back to recognize God’s hand throughout history. Ecclesiastical theology emphasizes the need for the church to fellowship together as a body of Christ. A theology which encourages sanctification means that one does not believe that he simply says a prayer and then goes on living a sinful life. Rather, that person tries to draw closer to Christ every day and struggles to become more Christ-like by trying to change his sinful tendencies with God’s help. Finally, good theology must encompass all life because if one only has theology for Sunday, but ignores God the rest of the week, or if he only allows God to influence parts of his life, reserving other parts for himself, then he is not truly surrendered to our great God. Thus, these are the marks of good theology. --Emily Steele 5. What is the study of Symbolics? Symbolics is the study of creeds and confessions in their development and their doctrines. Creeds serve to unify the church, and confessions are statements of faith that define the specifics of a group’s theology. Confessions divide denominations whereas creeds unite all Christians. --Joseph Sung 6. Why should theologians study Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek? When Jesus walked on the earth He spoke Hebrew. When the Bible was written, it was written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic because the men who were inspired by God to write were from different cultures, ethnicities, but all of one religion. When we translate from language to language, words and meaning get changed. This is why theologians need to study the original languages of the Bible so that they can know the true meaning of the words so that the word can be taken into context. --Julia Denney 7. What is the difference between exegesis and hermeneutics? Exegesis and hermeneutics are both very similar but have a distinction that makes them different. Exegesis is the science of discovering the specific meaning behind a given text and hermeneutics is the science of discovering how to interpret a text. Both involve the careful study and interpretation of text and both rely on outside sources; yet, exegesis is the actual act of finding the meaning and hermeneutics is the study of the principals of interpretation. Hermeneutics is the manual or directions on how to do exegesis. Exegesis can not be complete without the use of hermeneutics and hermeneutics would be pointless without exegesis. --John Stevenson (sent to Emily Steele at 1:09 AM, September 7, 2010) 8. What is the difference between Biblical Theology and and Systematic Theology? Biblical Theology is the study of the development of ideas and themes within scripture. This helps us to see those themes in their historical and literary context and shows us how those themes interacted with the promises of the coming Christ. However, Systematic Theology is the study of doctrines compared side by side and then applied to personal life. Systematic theology is built on Biblical theology. --Julia Denney 9. Is Systematic Theology an end in itself or does it serve another discipline? No, Systematic Theology definitely needs another discipline. In the olden days, people would say that it was the "Queen of Science" and philosophy was its handmaiden. Philosophy is defined as the love of wisdom. And I believe that Systematic Theology not only needs facts, but also needs philosophy to think through ideas and facts that are presented in systematic theology. --Julia Denney 10.''' Should successive generations neglect the study of Systematic Theology as something that has been exhausted and look for other areas of study? Please explain. '''No, successive generations should not neglect the study of Systematic Theology because each generation has the privilege of delving deeper into the glories of God. Man can never learn all there is to know about God; therefore, mankind should continue to study God’s word and theology both now and in the future. --Emily Steele